The Truth About Wammy's Orphanage
by Flying Catfish Bird
Summary: Now that L thought about it, how did Wammy manage to get his hands on so many genius orphans? Why were so many geniuses orphaned without anywhere else to go? Was it really all coincidence? And how does Watari react to L's thoughts and possible discovery?
1. Chapter 1

**A.N**: _I didn't see any fics like this, so I decided to make one. Seriously, how did Watari find so many geniuses that just so happened to be orphans? How many orphaned super-geniuses can there possibly be in the world? And why didn't they have any other family, or friends of family, that could take them in? Was it all just coincidence, or was there something more to it?_

**Disclaimer**: _I don't own Death Note. _

* * *

L was the greatest detective in the world. He had solved every case he had ever worked on. He solved cases not to make a better world, but to put his great mind to use. The world was at his fingertips, and he took advantage of that fact.

It was strange how he had never looked into his own case. He had never thought to do such a thing. And it had been an offhanded comment of Matsuda's that had brought on such a thought.

In regard to the killing of a specific criminal, Matsuda had said, "I'm not condoning Kira or anything, but if he hadn't killed that criminal when he did, those kids would be orphaned."

Orphaned... killed... criminals... It had all brought back the death of L's parents. He remembered walking home from the neighborhood park at age five, hand in hand with his thirteen-year old baby-sitter. It had been raining thick and hard, the raindrops pelting down upon them. L had hated the rain back then. His baby-sitter, a boy with dark brown hair and light blue eyes, had held the small umbrella over L.

What was his baby-sitter's name? Sam... Shawn... Seth... No, Scott. That was it. Scott Smith.

They had barely been a block away, when burning heat managed to reach them despite the cold droplets.

~_Twenty Years Earlie_r~

_Little L stared in _wonder at the orange flames. They were surrounding his house, reaching up to consume it whole. Bright dots were burned into his vision, but still he looked on. Not even the rain could smother the hungry flames.

The grip on his hand had tightened painfully, and he looked up at his baby-sitter, Scott. "Where were we supposed to meet Mommy and Daddy?"

Scott didn't answer, pulling L close. For L's part, he was confused. Obviously his parents weren't in the burning house. So where were they? He craned his neck, trying to see through rain and smoke. "Mommy? Daddy?" he called out. Maybe they were only hiding, or couldn't see him. He found his voice being drowned out by the rain. He could always find them after it stopped raining. They could even be at the neighbor's house.

So why was his house on fire?

That was what he was having the hardest time figuring out.

"Excuse me?" It was a deep voice, with a heavy British accent. L turned around, looking up at an old man with a strange mustache. "Are you L Lawliet?"

L glanced at Scott, looking for reassurance before speaking to the stranger. Scott was still gazing at the burning house, eyes wide and vacant. "Yes," L answered.

"I am sorry for your loss."

L looked at his house. He did have his favorite stuffed panda in there, and the cake they were going to eat to celebrate his mother's birthday the following day. Strawberry cake. He wasn't very fond of sweets, but his mother ate them without pause. Strawberry cake was her favorite. "Mommy and Daddy can buy me a new panda. I'll help Daddy bake Mommy another cake."

The old man looked surprised. "I am Quillish Wammy, and I have some unfortunate news."

L looked at his house, wondering why the man was so insistent upon stating the obvious. It was no secret that his house was burning down. But he was sure it would be alright. His parents had always pulled through any troubles in the past, and he was sure they could find a new home. Maybe even Scott's home. L wouldn't mind moving in with the older kid that smothered him with attention.

"Your parents have passed away in the fire."

L stared blankly at the old man. Normally he understood things extremely well. The intelligence tests at his school had placed him at a genius level. This time, however, he had no clue what the man was saying. His parents had passed away in the fire... No, maybe it had been, 'Your parents have passed Away in the fire.' Yes. Away was most definitely a person. "Who's Away?"

Scott pulled L close, and consequently away from the stranger. "Who the hell are you?"

"Quillish Wammy," the man informed. "I will be starting an orphanage, and L will be the first one to join."

L winced as the grip on his hand tightened almost painfully. "Scott!"

The boy loosened his grip only the slightest bit, body tense and rigid. "How did you get here the moment his house was burning down? How can you be sure his parents aren't alive?" He broke off, but when he spoke again it was in the most miserable tone L had ever heard. "Why L?"

"I am a rich man. I learn things quickly, and have many ways of acquiring knowledge. As for why I will be taking L, it is because he is very intelligent. My orphanage will be for geniuses."

L was surprised when two arms wrapped around him, holding him possessively. "My family can take him in."

"That is unnecessary. I can provide for his education and growth far better than your family can." Wammy was now looking at the fire, an expression of interest across his face. "If you don't hand him over, we'll fight you in court. Can your family really afford that?"

L glanced at the fire, and then back at Wammy. Parents... fire... passed away... The words were going through his mind almost aimlessly. What could they possibly mean?

"Now that his parents are dead-"

And all L could hear after that were his own screams, the rain that had once seemed to roar now a distant noise in the background. Pain was clawing up his chest and pouring from his eyes, mixing with the rain, differing only in the fact that it left scorching marks down his cheeks. He found himself pulled from the comforting hold of his baby-sitter, crying for someone to wake him up. Because surely this was only a dream. His parents weren't dead.

As Scott faded from sight, L found the world going black around him, unconsciousness _overtaking his exhausted mind._

* * *

L twirled his spoon in his tea almost mindlessly. He had never questioned Watari on how it had all happened. Watari had said L's parents had died in an accidental fire. Once taken from his home, both miserable and alone, L hadn't even thought of questioning Watari's words.

Now that he did question what had happened, he found a surprising lack of believability. He had left his home for what was supposed to be an hour. Scott's family needed some extra money, so L's family decided to pay Scott for 'baby-sitting' L. Really they had hung out before that, since Scott liked children and L loved the attention of a 'big kid'.

They had actually returned half an hour early. In thirty minute's time, the house had been engulfed in flames despite the rain. His mother was never one to forget to turn off the oven or stove, and even then she should have been able to find a way out of her burning house. His dad had probably been sitting on the sofa by the front door, reading the newspaper while waiting for L to return. He should have been able to escape, too.

So why hadn't they? And why had Watari been there so soon after it had happened?

* * *

**A.N:** _Should I continue, or do you think leaving it at this is better? And what are your opinions on this take? _


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N**_: This chapter's mostly just necessary move-the-plot-along stuff. The real stuff will come next chappie. But this chapter is still most definitely important. That's why it exists :P_

_P.S: Thank you so much for all the reviews! I hope this chapter, despite it's lack of action, doesn't disappoint._

**Disclaimer: **_Flying Catfish Bird does not own Death Note. _

* * *

Light glared at the detective seated beside him. They were currently the only passengers on a plane to _somewhere_. L had dragged Light along without any real excuse, aside from, _"I can't go without you, Light-kun_,_"_ followed by a pointed look at the handcuffs keeping them attached. Currently, said detective was downing a piece of chocolate cake.

"Ryuuzaki, there has to be something you can tell me. At least tell me where we're going," Light tried.

L looked up from his cake, black orbs locking with Light's amber. "We're going to England."

Surprisingly, that fact only made Light more anxious. What reason would L have for taking Light out of the country, without any of the task force members? Perhaps he had grown tired with searching for evidence, and had connections that could kill Light in England? The thought was too plausible to shake.

"Light-kun?"

Said boy glanced up at the slight concern in L's voice. "Yeah?"

"You're panicking."

Said as a statement, meant as a question, and surprising nonetheless. Light wasn't sure how to answer. He deduced that the truth would work this time. "Are you bringing me to an execution?" L's surprise was a relief, but only slightly. After all, he could merely be taken aback that Light had guessed correctly.

"I wasn't planning on telling you, but it seems Light-kun has come to unsettling conclusions. We will be visiting an orphanage and questioning children on how they came to be orphans."

Light nodded, starting to fit the pieces together. "Their parents might have been murdered by Kira."

To Light's surprise, L said, "This is completely unrelated to the Kira case."

"Then why are we doing it? Shouldn't we be focusing all of our attention on Kira? So that we don't need _these-_" and here Light paused to shake the handcuffs "-anymore?"

"We will keep in touch with the task force. I will keep up to date on Kira's activity with my lap top. If anything happens, we will know about it."

Light settled back in his seat, crossing his arms with irritation. Yes, it was nice to know he wasn't going to his execution, but now he was going to have to deal with emotional children. Maybe L had learned Light wasn't fond of children, and was using this trip as a means to get Light to 'confess'. _Except I'm not Kira, so he's not going to get a confession_.

Or maybe it really was just another case. The Kira case was progressing very slowly, and the best three detectives was bound to have other cases offered to him.

Whatever the case, Light wouldn't let his guard down, no matter how uncomfortable children made him.

* * *

The building was nothing like the ones in Japan. Not like Light had expected it to be like the giant skyscraper he had been living in with L. He had just never seen a building quite like this. The big wrought-iron gates had an elegant curve to them, and the building itself was big and old-looking.

Light entered the front door with pure curiosity. The hallways were lined with doors. Marble floors reflected a blurry image of himself back up at him. While he took all these details in, they weren't what caught his attention. Instead, it was the elderly gentleman that greeted him. While he was aged, that was about all he had in common with Watari. His face held frown-line wrinkles, and his eyes looked weary and tired behind circle-framed spectacles.

"L. It's nice to see you," said the man, and the words seemed to hold more than the man let on.

"Likewise, Roger. Would you show us to our room?"

"Yes, of course. Follow me."

It wasn't long before Roger stopped before a door, opening it to allow them in. Before Light could even look into the room, he was distracted by a screamed, "L!" a black-clad blond had his arms around the detective before Light could blink. "You're here! Matt, L's here!" Light frowned, trying to kick his brain into remembering English. It had been years since he had needed to use the language. He hadn't even thought about it when Roger had spoken to them in Japanese, but now he knew it was most likely out of courtesy.

A red haired boy with green eyes approached, eyes alight as they fell on the great detective. "You really are here."

Then both pairs of eyes fell on the handcuffs. "Um... so... is there a reason you're handcuffed to another man?"

"Do you know Japanese?" L asked of the kids.

"A little," said Mello, and Matt nodded. "I'm getting good at French, Spanish, and Italian, though."

In japanese, L said to Light, "Is Light-kun any good at English? I know you took it in school."

"I... can understand and read it," said Light, in his native tongue. "I have some difficulty speaking it, though."

"This will be good practice, then. We will only speak in English while here," said L, decisively. This sentence was still in Japanese.

Light grimaced at that. "Ok." A word he knew worked in both Japanese and English.

"As for why we are handcuffed," said L, in the promised English. "This is Light. He is a suspect in one of my cases. I cannot risk letting him out of my sight."

"...wow. That's tough. Being the world's greatest detective can lead to some pretty strange shit," said Mello.

"Mello," scolded Roger, but the blond merely rolled his eyes. "Why are you two out of class roaming the halls in the first place?"

"It was boring. I already know everything, and Near was mocking me."

"If the curriculum is too easy, you should tell your teachers so they can give you more challenging work," said Roger.

Mello shot a haughty glare at the old man. "I need to learn this subject. They're just going too slow. C'mon, Matt. Let's go do something _productive_."

When he two had disappeared down a random corridor, Roger let out a sigh. "I apologize for their behavior. As I was saying, this is your room. I was planning on staying for a moment, but it seems I have to take care of some things."

After Roger, too, had left, Light and L finally entered the room. It was on the smaller side of bedrooms, with two single-person beds pushed together. The square holes on one of the beds suggested it had once been a bunk bed. There was a door in the back, which Light figured led to a bathroom. A dresser stood against the right wall, a desk beside the bed against the left wall.

"So what exactly is this case?" asked Light in Japanese. To hell with L's annoying order for English only. "Those kids seem to know you personally. And they seem to be... very smart." Smart wasn't exactly the word he was looking for. He merely meant fast and great learners. He had yet to see proof that they could apply any of that knowledge.

L shut the door before speaking. "This is no regular orphanage, Light-kun. This is an orphanage for geniuses. It has... been brought to my attention that it is suspicious for so many geniuses to be completely orphaned with no family or friends to take them in."

Light frowned. It felt like something was missing... "You're not telling me everything. Why?"

"Light-kun's ability to know such things is eery. As for why, if I could tell you that then you wouldn't be asking that question."

The brunette rolled his eyes. "Fine. So how do we do this? You don't intend to just walk up to them and ask about how their parents were murdered, leaving them without a home or family, do you?" L didn't respond.

Irritated, Light decided to go on, "I bet you were one of these orphans. You're a genius, and they all know you. You're leaving things out, which suggests that this case could lead me to information about your identity."

"Very good, Light-kun. Fifty percent chance of being Kira."

"I'm not Kira!" Light huffed. He knew L was just trying to steer the conversation in another direction. He'd leave L alone for now. He could always do a bit of investigating on his own.

He glanced at the chain. Maybe he'd just have to stick to analyzing L's reactions...

* * *

**A.N**: _Who's POV do you think I should write the next chapter in? Can't decide... Probably gonna go with L, since he'll be able to relate to the stories and put pieces together. But I like writing Light POV more... Maybe I'll switch as I please? Excuse my rambling XD_


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